Tau is approximately equal to 6.28, so that makes today, 6/28, Tau day! Happy Tau Day.
One easy way to think of Tau Day is just to eat twice as much pie today as you did on Pi Day (March 14).
But … uhmm, what exactly is Tau?!
What is Tau? In 2001, Bob Palais published the article “π Is Wrong” in which he argued that the beloved constant π is the wrong choice of circle constant. He instead proposed using an alternate constant equal to 2π, or 6.283… to represent “1 turn”, so that 90 degrees is equal to “a quarter turn”, rather than the seemingly arbitrary “one-half π”.
from Kahn Academy
Does that clear it up for you? No? Me neither! I’m totally confused too. Let’s check in with Vi Hart for some help.
Tau from Vi Hart
What Tau Sounds Like: A Musical Interpretation of Tau
Michael Blake, a musician, interprets the mathematical constant Tau to 126 decimal places.
p.s. And get excited for 2015, just one year away, when we will celebrate 3/14/15 9:26:54, both AM and PM, the only two moments in an entire century represented by pi’s first ten digits. From From the Mixed Up Files of Middle Grade Authors
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AWESOME! That is really cool! I can’t wait to celebrate Pi Day next year! 😀
Thanks Erik!
Tau Day is fun as is Pi Day! Vi Hart’s video’s are awesome so it was a good excuse to share them.
No! I’ve never heard of Tau Day before, and I totally missed out on all the celebrating! Okay, so next year will be a fantastic Tau Day at least…
We can eat to pies Jeanette! That’s a great reason to celebrate! LOL!
Never heard of Tau Day before and the math confused me even more. But, I enjoyed the video. Our grandson will celebrate his 30th birthday on 3/14/15 next year. That’s cool. Hadn’t thought that far in advance.
Hi Patricia,
Tau is just twice Pi … and some people think it should be used instead of Pi for calculations. Glad you liked the video. Happy bday to your grandson with the awesome birthday!
Oh fun! Another nerdy day to celebrate!
Hi MaryAnne,
I love these nerdy days!